On December 11, 1970, a 23-year-old Kuniaki Shibata (31-2-2, 20 KOs) got a shot at the WBC and The Ring featherweight titles held by 27-year-old Mexican boxer Vicente Saldivar (36-1, 26 KOs).
Shibata came in to the fight on a 1-fight win streak with a 57% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 3 months and 2 days. Saldívar was on a 20-fight win streak with a 70% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 7 months and 2 days.
The champion refused to continue the fight in the 12th round, and Kuniaki Shibata is crowned the new WBC and The Ring featherweight world champion — in his first world-title fight. Shibata improves his record to 32-2-2 (21 KOs), while Saldívar adds a loss to his record at 36-2.
On June 3, 1971, the 24-year-old WBC and The Ring featherweight world champion, Kuniaki Shibata (33-2-2, 21 KOs), faced Raul Cruz, in a title defense fight.
Shibata came in to the fight on a 3-fight win streak with a 56% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 2 months and 27 days.
Kuniaki Shibata made quick work of Raul Cruz, stopping the challenger via KO in the 1st. Shibata improves his record to 34-2-2 (22 KOs)
On February 28, 1974, a 26-year-old Kuniaki Shibata (40-5-3, 24 KOs) got a shot at the WBC super-featherweight title held by Ricardo Arredondo.
Shibata came in to the fight on a 1-fight losing streak with a 50% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 4 months and 11 days.
Kuniaki Shibata defeated Ricardo Arredondo via unanimous decision and wins the WBC title. Shibata improves his record to 41-5-3
On March 12, 1973, a 25-year-old Kuniaki Shibata (37-4-3, 23 KOs) got a shot at the WBA and The Ring super-featherweight titles held by Ben Villaflor.
Shibata came in to the fight on a 1-fight win streak with a 52% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 1 month and 9 days.
Kuniaki Shibata defeated Ben Villaflor via unanimous decision and wins the WBA and The Ring titles. Shibata improves his record to 38-4-3
On October 3, 1974, the 27-year-old WBC super-featherweight world champion, Kuniaki Shibata (42-5-3, 24 KOs), faced Ramiro Bolanos, in a title defense fight.
Shibata came in to the fight on a 2-fight win streak with a 48% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 3 months and 6 days.
Kuniaki Shibata stopped Ramiro Bolanos via KO in the final round of the 15-round world-title fight, and successfully defended his WBC super-featherweight title. Shibata improves his record to 43-5-3 (25 KOs)
On March 27, 1975, the 27-year-old WBC super-featherweight world champion, Kuniaki Shibata (43-5-3, 25 KOs), faced Abdelkader Ould Makhloufi, in a title defense fight.
Shibata came in to the fight on a 3-fight win streak with a 49% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 5 months and 24 days.
Kuniaki Shibata defeated Abdelkader Ould Makhloufi via unanimous decision and successfully defended his WBC super-featherweight title. Shibata improves his record to 44-5-3
On June 19, 1973, the 26-year-old WBA and The Ring super-featherweight world champion, Kuniaki Shibata (38-4-3, 23 KOs), faced Victor Federico Echegaray, in a title defense fight.
Shibata came in to the fight on a 2-fight win streak with a 51% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 3 months and 7 days.
Kuniaki Shibata defeated Victor Federico Echegaray via unanimous decision and successfully defended his WBA and The Ring super-featherweight titles. Shibata improves his record to 39-4-3
On June 27, 1974, the 27-year-old WBC super-featherweight world champion, Kuniaki Shibata (41-5-3, 24 KOs), faced Antonio Amaya, in a title defense fight.
Shibata came in to the fight on a 1-fight win streak with a 49% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 3 months and 30 days.
Kuniaki Shibata defeated Antonio Amaya via majority decision and successfully defended his WBC super-featherweight title. Shibata improves his record to 42-5-3
On November 11, 1971, the 24-year-old WBC and The Ring featherweight world champion, Kuniaki Shibata (35-2-2, 22 KOs), faced Ernesto Marcel, in a title defense fight.
Shibata came in to the fight on a 5-fight win streak with a 56% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 3 months and 10 days.
The fight ended in a split decision draw and both the fighters added a draw to their respective records — Shibata is now 35-2-3.
On April 28, 1969, a 22-year-old Kuniaki Shibata (24-2-1, 15 KOs) and Kid Barrios met in the ring.
Shibata came in to the fight on a 1-fight win streak with a 55% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 1 month and 4 days.
Kuniaki Shibata stopped Kid Barrios via KO in the 1st round. Shibata improves his record to 25-2-1 (16 KOs)